December 18, 2008 Part of the attraction - and frustration - of golf is that the slightest imperfection in your swing can quickly be transformed into a utter disaster on the scorecard. Because of this, the game has also created a huge market for devices designed to help you train your swing correctly and the Gyro Swing - a training club that incorporates a 20,000 RPM gyroscope into the head - is one of the most high-tech examples we've seen to date.
I'm always amazed at the apparent ease with which pro-golfers strike the ball. Rather than brute force, its about timing and swing geometry - keeping the clubhead in a perfect plane and striking the ball at the bottom of the arc with the face square on to the target. To get there, like many sports, it's is about muscle memory, and that's where the Gyro Swing comes in. The training club looks like a regular driver but contains a gyroscope in the head spinning at 20,000 RPM which helps you to swing the club in the correct plane and square the clubface at the optimum point late in the swing (called delayed release). In short, it lets you “feel” the perfect swing.
Invented by Larry Kelly, the Gyro Swing also incorporates a smart grip to help you position hands correctly and a dual-colored shaft (front and back in a vertical direction) which serves as a further reminder to keep the club on-plane rather than coming to the ball with the clubface open or closed.
It's an interesting concept, though we're not sure if the weight of the batteries in the handle could effect the feel of the club and impact on the result when you step onto the tee with your real driver in hand. Gyro Swing will almost certainly hit the spot for some of us who are looking to iron out our swing and I, like most weekend hacks, am willing to try anything. And if it does help transform you into a better golfer, the USD$200 price tag may not seem so steep.
Via Dvice, via SKLZ (where the Gyro Swing gets a glowing video review).
Noel McKeegan
